Fate's Tangled Web
by liquidfire58
Summary: What will happen to a kidnapped Sakura?
1. Chapter 1

Hey Ya'll kinda new to this whole story thing, thought I'd give it a go. So I thought that I'd start things off by explaining some things, give you a little heads up on things I think that you need to know.

First off-while I would appreciate hearing feedback on what I could be doing better, not really necessary. This is more of a personal challenge than a desperate cry for affection.

Second-while the characters are from the Naruto universe, in this bubble of imagination, I am god. They will probably act OCC. I apologize if that offends and will try to keep them as close to form as I can, but I have created my own little world here. So, characters are going to act slightly different.

Thirdly-(is that even a word......huh, is now) While I do like painting vivid pictures with words when the need rises, for the most part, I generally dont do that. More times than nought, I usually skip over descriptions of people, places, ect.....and form my own images in my head. Unfortunately I tend to write that way. If it becomes to vauge, or you dont really understand the setting, let me know and I'll tighten it up.

Lastly- I am a pretty busy guy, much to my eternal annoyance, so updates will be about once a week.

Anyways, thats my speal about me. Read it while you can, because its the last time you'll see it.

I don't own Naruto, I do however own a very nice car, kinda.

Chapter One: Fate's Web

Tonight was the night. The night that she's been waiting for. Tonight Sasuke was taking her, HER, to the sotsugyou ball! She felt as if fate had been slowly weaving them together, for this very night. Sure they had been "dating" since she asked him out two years ago, but after the tonight, they would be considered actually adults. Meaning, they could get married, meaning she could start a family, meaning…. She would inadvertently be one of the most influential heiresses in all of Konaha! Even more important than that Hyuga girl!!!! Not that she was dating Sasuke for his money or power, true the Uchiha's were the cream of the crop, the most Noble of all Nobles, she loved him for him dammit!

Glancing sideways at the clock, Sakura almost has a heart attack, ( if she has a heart attack, she'll ruin her nails, and she spent all day getting them just right for Sasuke-Kun!) Snapping to attention, she beckons her servants to fetch her dress. Only 3 hours to go and she still has to do her hair………..

In a completely separate part of town, a medium built young man dressed all in black pauses to read a sign posted on a utility pole.

**ATTENTION**

**By Order of the Council anyone found to have been aiding of abetting any persons belonging to the subversive group, **_**KAGE, **_**will be convicted of treason, and executed.**

**Furthermore, anyone with any information regarding **_**KAGE,**_** or any other subversive unit is asked to report to your nearest public safety station. Rewards will be handed out based on the veracity of the information.**

**And just as a reminder the curfew is still in effect, any SERF caught out after curfew risks fines, and or a night in prison. **

Looking around, our mysterious rouge grabs the sign off the post and crumples it into a ball, before tossing it into the gutter. Checking distance, as if looking for something, he steps into a side alley, where he seemingly vanishes.

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The sotsugyou ball was an event that was originally intended to celebrate the passing of childhood, into adult-hood. This annual celebration was initially intended as a means for all teenagers, of all professions to celebrate as one the final steps into adult-hood. Over time, however, the ball has come to symbolize the oppression of the Nobles. It was stripped of its original meaning and made into a grand function, the likes of which only Nobles could attend.

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Sakura looked GORGEOUS, thank you very much. Her cherry red ball gown, was exquisite, her hair was perfect, and her make-up was flawless, and she was wearing her late mothers custom made necklace. The same could be said for her escort. He cut a fine figure in his military uniform, and his Katana was a genuine Marasume. Probably one of the last, which made it that much more rare.

"You look radiant Sakura-chan."

So intent upon her inspection, that she didn't even realize that he spoke, until she looked up and noticed that he was eyeing her strangely.

"S, Sorry, Sasuke-kun. You look quite handsome yourself."

"Are you ready to dance?"

He took her hand, and started leading her to the dance floor. Sakura was still trying to take it all in, this was her Night! She wanted to remember every second of it. He elegantly led her to the marble dance floor, positioning themselves almost directly in the middle, right underneath the giant skylight windows. Slowly their body's found a natural rhythm, and they danced comfortably for a few minutes before Sasuke spoke again.

"You know, the Serfs are talking about uprising again."

Startled, Sakura almost missed a step. Thanking the gods that she caught herself in time, she composed herself enough to meet his gaze before responding.

"Why would they? I thought that after Namikaze was executed, the uprisings would end." Just beneath the exterior of her calm façade, she was nervous. The last Serf uprising had turned into four year war.

" They're being emboldened by the recent acts of that terrorist organization, Kage. It will probably blow over in a week or two, whenever they catch those thieves. Still, there's a probability I'll be called out there to help settle the mess." At these words Sakura's grip on Sasuke tightened.

"But…you just graduated, and like you said it'll probably blow over…." anything else that would flown from her mouth was instantly cut short by Sasukes fingers gently covering her mouth. All protests instantly died away as he pulled her closer to him. She rested her head on his chest as they slowly started dancing again. Taking in her surroundings again, she desperately tried to regain her composure. This night wasn't going right at all! She tried to focus on something other than the fact that her boyfriend could be sent out to his death.

"You shouldn't worry so much, its unbecoming of an heiress. Besides, I was the number one rookie at the academy. Do you really think a bunch of lowly Serf's can hurt me?"

So, absorbed in trying to compose herself, she almost missed him talking again. Before she could give him an answer however, her eyes caught what appeared to be a guard sleeping. The outrage! She would have to report this to her father. How dare they take their job so carelessly. With a start she realized her boyfriend was speaking again.

"Are you listening?"

Sakura quickly supplied a sheepish yes. How could she have been caught not paying attention to him? Stowing the guard in her mind for later, she once again turned her entire attention, onto the Uchiha.

"Even though I wont be in any danger, it would still be nice to have something to come home to."

Sasuke spoke this with the same conviction he would use to order his food, yet if Sakura hadn't devoted all of her attention to him she would have sworn that she was dreaming. She was finding it all to hard to breath at the moment….

"Sakura, I think that I could grow to love you. You're everything that I want in a woman. Would you do me the honor, of being my bride."

Breath Sakura…..just breath…..breath in…..breath out…..and once you've regained your senses answer him damn you……..

Yet despite her most heroic of efforts, nothing would come out of her mouth.

Taking her lack of response as a positive omen, Sasuke gently started to bring his head down to hers.

Oh my god, oh my god,….is he moving towards me?? Is going to kiss me….my first kiss…..Move body, move!

And remarkably, she was able to. Her head slowly made its way towards his…she could count the number of eyelashes he had, this is it……this… is ….

_**!!!!!BOOM!!!!!!**_

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Sorry to hiack your time again. Just wanted to let you know. I'll give you a brief rundown of whats what in the next chapter.

Later

Liquid Fire


	2. Chapter 2

So this update came alot quicker than I expected. Thanks for those who viewed.

**Chapter 2. Enter the Players.**

She was confused, her ears were ringing, her vision was blurred. What the hell was going on?

Slowly, her memories pieced together what had happened. She had almost claimed her first kiss….when the skylight right above them had exploded. If it hadn't been for Sasuke pushing her away, she would have been sliced to ribbons. Slowly staggering to her feet she looks around the room, and isn't surprised to see the party has come to a stop. Its when her eyes stray to where she was standing moments before that she is genuinely surprised. Where she once was, now stands, what appears to be, a sunshine haired teen, dressed all in black, with what appears to be two swords strapped on his back.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Sasuke's voice sounds harsh and authoritative compared to the cold quiet that had befallen the room.

The strangers disinterested gaze slowly traveled to meet Sasuke's. He made no move to speak. He made no move at all.

"ANSWER ME DAMMIT!"

Again the stranger's gaze remained set. No movement.

"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? ANSWER ME!" At this he drew his sword.

"I can guess. You're an Uchiha, right?" The mans voice was quiet, yet commanding, and contained a hint of authority. He seemed almost amused by Sasuke's anger.

Seeing no response was coming the man spoke again.

" I am Kitsune of the KAGE'S, and I am here for something of great importance." His voice held no inflection, yet you could practically taste the contempt.

Sasuke appraised the man for a moment before responding.

" I think that will serve as your confession. GUARDS, TAKE THIS TERRORIST AWAY."

Sasukes eyes never left the man, almost as if he was daring him to make a move. His sword was still pointing at the newcomer. Only after a couple of seconds did he notice that there was no movement.

"GUARDS!" He took his eyes off the man long enough to see one of his personal guards collapse to the ground, almost as if he were a puppet and someone cut his string. Turning back to the stranger, he is shocked to see the man has already drawn his weapons.

"Looks like its just you, and me. Put the sword away and nobody gets hurt." His voice was cold, authoritative, commanding, and it infuriated Sasuke. How DARE they, at HIS BALL! Without a second thought, he launched himself at the newcomer. Sword aloft, trying to stab him through his terrorist heart.

Kitsune easily sidestepped the stab attempt, parried with the blade in his left hand, and brought his right hand, blade and all, in a slash that, if it connected was sure to part our dear Sasuke with his head. Not being the number one rookie for nothing, he ducked it at the last second, spun and slashed at the strangers midsection. Jumping back, rolling, and years of training saved Kitsune's life. Coming out of the roll, he quickly blocked a downward slash from the young Uchiha.

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Sakura, to put it bluntly, was terrified. How could the night have come to this. One second, she's about to have the most magical moment of her life. And what feels like one minute later, her boyfriend is in what appears to be a dual to the death with some stranger. The thing that was really starting to eat away at her nerves, however, was the fact that the number one rookie of the academy, her invincible beau, wasn't winning easily. If she was really honest, she would say that he wasn't winning at all. From what she could see, they appeared to be evenly matched. This couldn't be happening, she couldn't fathom it. Her brain had stopped functioning moments ago, and she was never as scared as she was now. The night was just getting started however, as her fear increased ten fold when the vigilante in black locked eyes with her, and charged straight at her.

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Sasuke was furious. With every stab that was parried, with every swipe that was blocked, his anger only grew. This…..this beast. This Kitsune was toying with him. He should be able to destroy this insect. He was an Uchiha. He was rookie of the year. Yet at the moment, he was unable to land even a single blow against his opponent. Slowly, red was seeping into Sasukes vision. Rage was consuming him. And with this rage came one solitary edict. KILL THIS MAN.

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Kitsune needed to think of something, fast. He knew what his orders were. He also knew that he couldn't kill Sasuke. Failing his objective was bad, breaking a promise, well that was beyond forgiveness as far as he was concerned. Taking a brief respite he caught sight of lone standing civilian, who has yet to take any kind of cover whatsoever. Allowing himself a brief moment to see who in their right mind would be so stupid as to not run for cover, his eyes fell upon the necklace said civilian was wearing. Realizations settled upon the rouge in a matter of seconds. That was the girl that was dancing with the man that he was fighting. Coming up with a plan in a matter of seconds, he did some quick hand signs, hoped they got through, and made a bee line right for her.

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Sakura couldn't move, fear had rooted her to the spot. Even is she hadn't been afraid, she wouldn't have moved anyways. Kitsune had gotten behind her faster than she could react, and at this moment had a sword at her throat.

"Your skills are impressive. But this fights over. Drop your sword, or she dies."

His voice was even, and carried no hint of malice, yet it chilled Sakura to the core. He just spoke of killing her as if he did this every day. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to block out everything else. Please let this be over soon. Her thoughts calmed her down slightly, she was calm enough at least. To open her eyes. Cracking them open, her eyes were greeted with the sight of her boyfriend…..charging at her………getting ready to run her through.

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Sasuke was furious. Every cell in his body screamed for this guys head on a pike. Weighing his options, he quickly concluded the quickest way to get to him, was through whatever he was hiding behind. Had Sasuke been in the right state of mind, he would have seen that it was ,in fact, his girlfriend. However, he was not in the right state of mind. He was going to kill this man. And with that though, he charged..

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Kitsune was shocked, which didn't happen very often. If he hadn't made a promise, he would have killed Sasuke right then and there. Seeing what Sasukes general intent was, he moved on instinct. Grabbing Sakura around the waist, he quickly turned and pushed her down, not stopping from his spin, he brought both swords up and blocked the incoming attack. With Sasukes sword inches from his face, it became a test of strength.

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Sasuke's sword was almost there, another inch and he could claim victory. His triumph faded quickly however when his body stopped functioning. With a start he realized he was unable to move. That's when he heard something drift lazily past his ear….

_Kagemane no Jutsu Success………._


	3. Chapter 3

Here is Chapter 3. The good stuff is coming up. I promise.

Chapter 3 Taking What I Need

Stunned silence fell over the crowd, engulfing the hall. Soon the only sounds were the silent struggles of the Uchiha to free himself of this onset paralysis. Sakura could barely breath, let alone think. Her boyfriend almost…..he nearly………she couldn't bring herself to think it. Slowly looking up from her position on the floor she noticed a newcomer on the dance floor. This teen to was dressed all in black. Noting the tell-tale hand positions, and seeing the connecting shadow between him and Sasuke, she determined that he had performed a jutsu. Slowly coming out of his crouch, ( she noticed with great dismay, that Sasuke was mirroring his movement,) he turned around and presented his back to her.

"Hurry up Kitsune, you know how tiring this gets." a casual voice drawled. Sakura could only assume that it was the new comer that had spoken. Turning to Kitsune she was shocked to see him raise his sword to Sasukes unprotected back, gathering her remaining courage, she pushed herself to her feet. What she planned to do once she was up was a mystery to her, but she couldn't just let them kill her Sasuke. Seeing the sword descending, knowing she wasn't going to make it, she did the only thing that she could think to do.

"STOP!" Her own voice surprised her. What surprised her more was the sword actually stopping. Kitsune was now staring intently at her, almost as if he found her amusing.

"Why should I?" His voice was held the inflection as the last time that he spoke, but now she was sure she could detect a hint of amusement. Pushing away her tears, tears were for later, she put on a brave face, and resolutely held his gaze.

"We'll give you anything you want, just …don't kill him. Please." Her voice came out even and calm, shocking even herself.

"Anything?" No doubt about it, there was definitely a hint of amusement in his voice, as if he was enjoying this. Steeling herself for what she prayed was the last time she answered,

"Anything."

"Than how about….your necklace."

Sakura drew in a sharp intake of breath. Her necklace? Her late mothers necklace? Tears sprung unbidden to her eyes. Even though it wasn't much of a choice, she still couldn't bear to part with it. Nodding her head she moved to unclasp the necklace from her neck. Clutching the necklace to her breath she steadied her voice.

"Will you please let him go now?" Tears were running down her face her makeup was smeared, and all she really wanted to do was hug her boyfriend and cry into his chest. Her brave façade was cracking, and she didn't know how much longer she could keep up the act.

Kitsune was reaching for her necklace when she spoke. Withdrawing his hand, he appeared to think about her question. Suddenly, he pulled back his sword and struck Sasuke squarely on the back of the head with the guard, rendering him instantly unconscious. Turning to Sakura he again holds out his hand.

Sakura was speechless. This…animal had just struck a helpless man. HER boyfriend. Her heart shattered as she watched his fall bonelessly to the floor. Dual rivers were cutting down her face. So intent upon Sasuke she totally missed the stranger's hand hovering in front of her. Waiting for the treasure she clutched so tight to her breast. She was visibly startled when he spoke again.

" The necklace."

She tried to speak, but found she had no voice. Prying her eyes off Sasuke, she looked at her feet and tried again.

"Y…You…made a deal. You said you would let him go."

"Did you just think I was going to set him free? At least he's alive. If you want me to rectify that situation, please, don't cooperate. Just know that one way or another, I'm getting that necklace."

Sakura had no trouble picking up on the anger in his voice. When she stopped to think about it, however, what did she think was going to happen? Even if they had freed Sasuke, would he have let them walk out of here? Shaking her head, as if to shake the train of thoughts free, she reluctantly holds out the necklace. Closing her eyes tightly, she waits for it to be taken.

**!!!!!!POP!!!!!!!**

"WHAT THE HELL!?!"

Her eyes snapped open. There was Kitsune fanning his now burnt hand around, as if trying to put out an imaginary fire.

"What the Hell was THAT!?!"

Sakura, not knowing what was going on, simply shook her head. She watched as he, again, slowly lowered his hand to the necklace. Grasping it he slowly started to pull it away. As soon as the necklace broke contact with her skin, she saw a flash of light and heard of pop of electricity. Kitsune dropped the necklace into her hand once again. Moving closer he silently inspected the necklace for a series of seconds before cussing silently.

"Bushou, we have a problem." He turned to the pony tailed teen to address him.

The second teen simply inclined his head to indicate that he was listening.

" There's some kind of seal on the necklace. We cant take it. Not without taking the girl."

Sakura's breath caught in her throat. They were talking about her right?

The pony tailed one shook his head.

"You know what leader will do to you if you bring someone to the base. Especially a kidnapped Noble. Not to mention the fact that we would have escalated this from a simple theft, to full blown kidnapping."

Sakura silently hoped that the blonde one would listen to him. Watching him intently, her stomach plummeted when she saw Kitsune shake his head.

"We need that necklace. Much as I hate to, I don't see any other options. If we get into trouble, I'll take full responsibility. Now, go alert Urufu, and Kusabana. I'll meet you at the gates."

Looking resigned, the second rogue saluted lazily before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Sighing heavily, Kistune turned to Sakura.

"I know you heard what's going on, so I give you two choices. One, you come quietly, two, I use force."

Sakura eyed the exits. She knew she had no chance in a one on one fight with this man, so her only option was to flee. Taking stock of the hall, she was surprised to find she was the only other person in the room, everyone else having fled earlier. Some distant part of her mind was telling her she should have left with them. Why did she stay?

Feeling a breath on the back of her neck, her body went numb. Just before the darkness took her, she barely made out his words.

" Looks, like its option two."

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	4. Chapter 4

So the updates are coming along faster than I anticipated. However, I am going on vacation next week. So, I'll get back to you within a week. In the meantime. Enjoy.

Chapter 4: Daring Plans

She was dancing. Everything was perfect. The music. Her Dress. Her boyfriend. Perfect. She wished that they could dance forever. Slowly the music changed. The beat sped up…..faster….faster……faster. She couldn't keep up. It was far to fast for her. Dancing faster, and faster she almost lost her footing. Desperately she turns to her date, and her heart clenches in her chest. This isn't Sasuke. This being, with red eyes cant be Sasuke. She tries to scream, but nothing comes out. Looking around she realizes that she's surrounded by these monsters. Falling she tries to scramble away, to find that they've boxed her in. Slowly they approach her, almost as if they're savoring the moment. Pseudo-Sasuke reaches out towards her. Now she finds her voice, but it to late. Closing her eyes she can feel them grab her…….

She wakes in a cold sweat. It was only a dream. She hears some voices outside of her room, but since she just woke up, her mind can't quite decipher what they're saying. That or that fact that her head is killing her. And her back hurts, did she sleep fall off of her bed by accident during the nightmare. She tries to raise her hands to wipe the sweat off of her forehead, only to realize that her hands are tied! It all comes back in a rush. The party, the fight, Sasuke getting knocked out. Her kidnapper…….she realizes with a start that his voice what she hears through the thin fabric of the tent.

"……still going to take about a day to get back, maybe two. They've unleashed almost all of the regular army."

That voice was definitely feminine. Yet Sakura couldn't place it. It was probably one of Kitsune's cohorts.

"Man, you've really stirred up the hive this time. I mean, kidnapping a Noble. Are you fucking nuts? Scratch that, I've known you were crazy for a while, just not **that crazy." **

This one sounded wild. How many people were in this organization?

"It was unavoidable. We NEED that necklace. Granted, taking her along wasn't part of the plan. However, I could see no other option."

Sakura couldn't forget that voice. That man was the cause of all of this.

"I know it's troublesome, but the deed is done. The only thing that we can do now is get her to the camp, and wait until Jiraya shows up. No use bitching about it now."

That lazy draw was unmistakable as well. So by Sakura's estimation, there were four of them with her. She might be able to get away, she just had to keep her wits about her.

"That's not what worries me. Its what do we do with her when we remove the necklace."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Until then, lets think about how to get her to camp. The best course of action would be to split up, split their patrols, and meet at the border. Only question, who gets the girl?"

There was no mistaking it. Kitsune was definitely the leader.

"I can't, I've got Akamaru. We attract enough attention without the help of a captive."

"As much as it pains me to admit it, I may not be the best option either. If I need to engage someone in combat, she'd definitely have the opportunity to escape. Sorry."

After a short pause Sakura heard the lazy one speak.

"That just leaves you and me Kitsune. If we apply Kusubana's logic to us, then I'm the best candidate. Seeing as to how I'm the only one of us that can subdue multiple targets at once." At this he paused for a heavy sigh." As troublesome as this sounds, I should be able to get her to the border without to much of a problem."

The lazy one is actually going to be taking her. What luck! Even though he used a jutsu, she was sure that she could escape one person.

"Fine. She's in your hands Bushou. We'll run interference, and split the search parties. See you in two days."

And with that there was silence. Sakura sat there in her tent, slowly trying to think of some means to escape. Her wrists were bound extremely tight, the knot expertly tied. Same with her ankles. The rope was thin and strong. She wouldn't be able to just snap it. As if she could of anyways. It was times like these that she really regretted coasting through the academy. Seeing no sharp object in sight, her only hope now, was for the lone rouge to untie her. And she knew that that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

"So I see that your awake."

The lazy rouge had poked his head into her tent, and was looking at her with what could only be described as boredom.

"Listen, if you promise to behave, I'll cut your bindings. Only if you promise to be good though."

Not believing her ears. Sakura could only nod her head. Was he really going to trust her? She flinched slightly when he pulled out a combat kunai, but quickly regained her composure when he skillfully cut the ropes that bound her hands and feet.

"Now, don't get any ideas. I'm only doing this because it would be to much of a hassle to carry you around everywhere."

Sakura could only stare at him. Apparently she was right on the money with him. He was extremely lazy.

"Well, foods out here. We couldn't build a fire for obvious reasons, but there is some field rations."

Nodding slowly she silently followed him out of the tent. The first thing that she noticed was that dawn was just starting to break. Meaning she had been out for about 7 hours. Taking stock of her surroundings. She realized that she had no idea where she was. Before she could get her bearings, food was shoved into her hands.

" Eat, and while your at it. You might want to do something about that bump on your head. We have a long journey, and I don't expect to carry you."

Looking down at the meager bread and cold field rations, she realized two things. One, she had never seen such unappetizing food before. And two, she was HUNGRY! Taking a bite, she quickly learned something else as well. It tasted as bad as it looked. Trying to find something to take her mind off of the horrible taste, she decided to try and find out more about the people who had abducted her.

"Ummmmm….e..excuse me."

The lazy bandit looked at her, but made no move to answer. So she tried again.

"Ummm..Excuse me."

Sighing heavily, he finally answered her.

"Yes."

"I was wondering, could you…..tell me why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you kidnap me? Why are you after my necklace? Why would you willingly rebel against the system?"

"That…..is a lot of questions. Obviously we kidnapped you for your necklace. Why we need the necklace……I'm afraid I can't answer that. As for the latter part of your question, why I joined KAGE? In a nutshell, the system sickens me. Truth be told, I probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for Kitsune."

"What's that supposed to mean?'

"You've met him. He's a natural leader. Hell, if it weren't for his age, and lack of experience, he would be the main leader. If it weren't for him, and KAGE, I would still be living on the streets, mourning the loss of my family's lands. "

"But why try to revolt? Surly you cant blame your family's lost land on the Nobles."

"Oh, I can. You see, when the Nobles rose to power. Any clan that didn't back their uprising were instantly marked as traitors. My clan lost everything because we didn't want to fight a pointless war. We were shamed, had our clan title revoked, our jutsu's outlawed and were forced to a life of servitude and poverty. So you see, I have every right to blame the Nobles. And one day, we will get our land back. "

Sakura was speechless. His speech contained passion and energy she didn't think that the lazy man possessed. Still as passionate as his speech was, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. If she did choose to believe him, the implications were HUGE. Her family…..her Noble family, steal someone else's land? It couldn't be true. She had to get away from him before he fed her more lies.

"Now, let me ask you a question. Seeing as to how we're to be traveling together, can you tell me your name?"

She debated not telling him. Why should she? She was the kidnapped one. The only thing that stopped her was the fact that she needed to get on his good side. But that didn't mean that she would just cooperate.

"Yes you may, if you give me your name first. I refuse to call you by some stupid code name."

There was the command she was used to hearing in her voice. She was a Noble dammit, time to start acting like one.

"Fine, my names Shikamaru."

Sakura was taken back. She didn't expect him to give it to her so readily. She expected some resistance.

"That's it? Your going to give me your name that easily?"

"I don't see the harm that it could do."

Sakura couldn't make heads or tails of that. It sounded so innocuous. Yet still came off as cryptic. Without thinking she blurted out.

"And what exactly does that mean?"

He paused as if to collect his thoughts, before answering.

"We have to take you to our base to collect that necklace. Your going to be the first Noble to ever step foot inside there."

"So? What are you getting at?"

Her panic was rising. She had a feeling she knew where this was going, and it scared her senseless.

"Have you taken the time to evaluate the situation your in. Even if we successfully get the necklace off of you. You'll have seen our base, possibly our leader. It's a very real possibility that your never going to go back."

"Your going to keep me?? As if I'm some kind of pet??"

"If you want to look at it like that, probably. Listen, don't shoot the messenger. And for what its worth. I am sorry. Kidnapping you wasn't part of the plan."

Sakura nodded her head numbly. Escape became her only imperative now. She HAD to get away from these terrorists. The sooner the better! The alternative was a lifetime of imprisonment. After several seconds she stood up abruptly and turned to the rouge.

" I have to use go to the bathroom."

"Uhhh, ok."

He made as if to stand up.

"ALONE!"

With a mutter of "troublesome," he stuck his thumb out in a some vague direction. Her face must have looked puzzled, because his next words were,

" Unless you want to sit in poison ivy, I'd go this way."

Nodding resolutely she walked by him without making eye contact. Choosing a bush on the fringe of the clearing they were in, she chanced a quick look back, and saw, to her astonishment, he wasn't even watching her. He seemed to be, cloud gazing!?! Ducking silently behind the bush, she made her break for it.

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Not knowing where she was. Her only hope was to run into a group that was searching for her. That idea was quickly becoming impossible in her mind. She had been running for the better part of the day, and she hadn't seen sight not sound of any humans. More than once she thought that she heard a wild animal, which would cause her to detour from her current trajectory, till she was hopelessly lost. Ha! How could you get hopelessly lost, when your already lost? Pausing for a second, she checked the position of the sun. To her dismay, it was already setting! She had been running all day. Her dress was ruined. Her feet were cut, bruised, and blistered. ( She had kicked off her shoe's hours ago.) And she was in desperate need of a bath. Still, it was better than the alternative. With that thought she set her jaw and ran, (more like fast limped,) onward.

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An hour later found her leaning against a tree. Night would fall any minute, and she still hadn't found anybody, nor did she know where she was. Thinking that her best option was to find some place to hide and wait until morning, she moved to push herself off of the tree…..only to find that she couldn't move. Was she really that tired. True, she never really pushed herself this hard before. She tried to move her arm experimentally, only to find it to was frozen in place.

"You run pretty fast for a girl. However, if you keep at it, you're liable to hurt yourself. And then I would have to carry you. Still, you got us pretty far today. I guess I should thank you."

As a testament to how tired she was Sakura couldn't even muster the energy to properly cry. She simply sat there, silently while tears rolled down her face. This whole time, he had been following her. Not only that, but she had stupidly run in the wrong direction. Hanging her head she let the tears fall to the ground. There was no way she could escape. If he was able to shepherd her into doing what she wanted, there was no way she would be able to allude him while backtracking an entire day.

As if to cap off her feeling of impending doom, he was building a fire. That could only mean one thing, there was no patrol out here. She was alone.

How long she would have stood there if he hadn't gently escorted her over to the fire, she didn't know. Sitting there, she barely registered the fact that he handed her food. Bread and warm rations this time. She ate mechanically. Neither tasting the food, or feeling it fill her. She had given up.

"You never told me your name."

His words brought her out of her trance. Blinking, she turned towards him but stayed silent. Sighing deeply, he tried again.

"I told you my name, its only polite if you tell yours."

"Sakura"

Her words were hollow, like her. She felt like crying again, but held it in. She finished eating, and was surprised when he handed her something else. Inspecting it closer, she saw that it was healing ointment. Looking at him puzzled he explained.

"I noticed your feet are pretty banged up. You'll never make it the rest of the way unless you take care of them. I have an extra pair of sandals for you as well, they'll have to do until we meet up with Kusubana….uhh, Ino. She'll give you a change of clothes."

Nodding dumbly, she slowly worked the ointment into the bottom of her feet. If she hadn't been so tired, she would have danced for joy. She hadn't realized that her feet were that bad. When she was finished with the ointment and bandage, she shakily tried to get to her feet, only to find Shikamaru pick her up bridal style, and gently put her on a sleeping bag.

"Best to stay off your feet for a few hours, let the ointment soak in. Anyways, we head out first thing in the morning, so you should get some sleep."

Shikamaru's words fell on deaf ears however, as Sakura was already passed out.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey, back from my vacation. It was freaking awesome.

Chapter 5 Following the Leader

"HOW COULD YOU DO SOMETHING THIS RECKLESS!?!" A busty, blond headed woman was currently yelling at the three bandits standing before her. Sakura was sitting quietly on a couch, outside the office, but could hear every word that the their leader was shouting.

After meeting up with the rest of Shikamaru's team, she was introduced to the rest of the gang. The return journey took only half a day to get from the border to, what they called, base camp. Base camp, as it turns out, was a large hollow mountain. Base camp was, for all intents and purposes, a refugee city. Complete with its own school, and hospital. They were, upon arrival into the city, escorted to the tallest building in the city.

"I MEAN KIDNAPPING A NOBLE??? IF THEY WEREN'T LOOKING FOR US BEFORE, THEY SURE AS HELL ARE NOW??? WHAT WOULD POSSESS YOU TO DO THIS????"

If Sakura hadn't been felt so terrified at her position, she would have found the entire situation absolutely hilarious.

"WELL??? IS SOMEONE GOING TO ANSWER ME???"

"It was my idea Tsunade-sama. We had no other way to remove that necklace, its protected by some kind of seal."

He avoided eye contact with the fuming leader, as if the floorboards would provide adequate salvation from her wrath.

"Shikamaru, is this true?"

The leader shot him a hard glare with her question. Almost daring him to lie to her. Sighing deeply, as was the habit of the lazy genius, he simply nodded his head.

"Bring the girl in."

Seconds later the girl was escorted into the office and unceremoniously dumped in front of the three chastised teens, directly in front of the leaders desk. Seeing how frightened the girl looked, the woman adopted a gentle smile before addressing her.

"Hello, my name is Tsunade. What may I ask, is your name."

If Sakura wasn't so scared right now, her jaw would be on floor right now. Slowly she opened her mouth.

". Haruno Sakura."

Tsunade merely smiled at her.

"Would you please remove your necklace, and place it on my desk."

Sakura moved of slowly, hoping if she was compliant, they would go easy on her. Maybe even let her go??? She could hope, couldn't she. Slowly she unclasped her necklace, and gently set it upon the table. Picking up a pen, Tsunade flipped the necklace over and carefully inspected the back. After a moments few moments, she flipped it back over and faced the Haruno once more.

"Did you know that that necklace is inscribed with a family seal?"

Sakura could only shake her head.

"Simply put, if anyone but you touches that necklace, they're going to get one hell of a shock."

"You got that right."

Kitsune mumbled. Tsunade spared him a quick glance, silencing him from further outburst, before facing the Haruno once more. For what it was worth, Sakura was holding up really well. Mustering up her courage, she faced the older women.

"You can have the necklace, I'll give it to you, just please….let me go." She tried valiantly to keep the tears from her eyes, and the quiver from her voice, she really did. Unfortunately, all present could easily detect her distress.

Putting on a sympathetic face, Tsunade answered the girl.

"I'm terribly sorry. I wish it were that easy, but you've already seen our camp. You've spent enough time with our ninja to accurately gauge their weaknesses. As much as it pains me, your stuck here."

Sakura's heart plummeted. She wasn't even aware that she had dropped to her knees. Not being able to hold back the tears, she tried again, even though she knew it was a hopeless cause.

"P, Please. I w,won't tell them anything. Just….just let me go home." She dissolved into tears at the end of her plea.

"Do you really think that you would be able to go back, and not have to explain where you've been? I'm sorry, but my answer is final."

Her words were like a sledgehammer. Driving what remained of the girls hope away. So the pink haired debutante sat on a leaders floor and wept. How stupid she must have sounded. She knew they weren't going to let her go. And even if they did, would she really have been able to keep her promise? She had knowledge of their location. She even recognized some of the inhabitants. As long as they were a resistance, she was their prisoner.

Tsunade eyed the girl weeping on the ground in front of her desk for moment before turning to the three ninja's standing at attention behind her.

"I understand why you did what you did Naruto, but look at the mess you've made."

Turning her chair around to look out the window the blond continued to speak.

"Seeing as to how she's not a prisoner of war, it would be wrong of me to put her in the cells. However, she can't be left to her own devices." The leader paused, "What should we do about this?"

Turning to face the three ninja, she left the question hang in the air. When if became apparent that no one was willing to speak, she answered for them.

"Naruto, as squad leader, do you take full responsibility for your actions?"

Snapping to attention, Naruto answered with a smart, "HAI!"

The busty leader smiled.

"Good, because starting today, she's your responsibility."

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	6. The Start of Something

Hey, this chapter came pretty quick. Hope you like it. Life's getting to be hectic again, so don't expect super quick posts like this often.

To those of you who reviewed, thank a bunch. It helps to know that someone actually finds this interesting enough read. And to those of you who didn't, thanks for reading anyways. Now I've got to go put some lotion on these bug bites. Last time I ever hike in the forest.

Chapter 6 The Start of Something

Three days, THREE DAYS!!! That's how long she had been in that room. Only coming out to use the facilities. She didn't eat. She didn't talk. All she did was cry. He had tried several times, on several different occasions to try to get her to talk/eat. He was greeted each time with silence, other than the occasional sob. She hadn't showered. She hadn't even changed out of her now ruined ball gown! And since he wasn't supposed to let her out of his sight, he hadn't been able to train for three days! Ever since Tsunade had made her his responsibility, and given her his spare room, he had lost all of his freedom. Today was going to be different. This morning he was going to get through to her that he was in charge. If he couldn't be her friend he would be her commander. Steeling himself, he marched over to her room, and slammed open her door.

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Sakura had never felt so sorry for herself. She couldn't bring herself to get up from the mattress she was curled into a ball on. She cried until she thought that she could cry no more. It was as if her mind had blocked out all but her ability to perceive sorrow. She would have continued to lay on that bed until she perished, had her door not been suddenly thrown open.

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Naruto took a second to adjust to the weeping figure on the bed. Pity took hold of his senses, and almost softened his gaze. NO! He needed to be tough. Making his face as impassive as ever, he leveled her with his toughest gaze before speaking.

"Look at you. You're disgusting. You may have spent all your time in your pretty palace laying around in bed, but I will not allow this in my house. You WILL get up from that bed, and straighten this pig sty up. They you WILL make yourself presentable."

Her frightened gaze almost made him regret yelling at her. When she spoke her words were soft and choked, as if she was still fighting back sobs.

"I don't know how. I've never had to before. And I don't have any other clothes……"

Anything else that she was going to say was choked off by the sobs.

Naruto kept the firm gaze glued to his face. Marching down to his spare closet, he pulled out a bucket of cleaning supplies. Marching back to her open door, he dropped it on the floor. The noise of the bucket hitting the floor startled the debutante into looking at him.

"This is everything that you will need. Directions on how to use them are on the bottles. When your done scrubbing this room down, you will make yourself presentable so that we can get you some new clothes."

Walking away quickly, lest his mask slip, the blond went to the kitchen to make himself some food.

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Sakura had never felt so pathetic in her entire life. It wasn't bad enough that they had kidnapped her, but forcing her to do manual labor? She almost felt like rebelling. I mean what was the worst thing that they could do to her, kill her? She would prefer a life of death, than one of that….that monsters servant. Her thoughts strayed to his face. That expression that he wore when he gave her his orders. She slowly got up from her bed, and made her way over to the bucket. She was terrified of him. She knew that now. Slowly she started pulling out the various bottles, and reading the contents on the back.

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Naruto slowly ate his breakfast. He was mentally calculating how much time he should give her, before he went and checked on her progress. Deciding that he could put it off no further, he slowly got up, and deposited his dish in the sink.

He expected a mess. He expected a soapy, streaky, puddled, crying mess. What he didn't expect was spotless windows, immaculate walls, a half done floor so polished that he could see his own reflection. HE couldn't even clean this good! And he had been doing it all his life. The thing that surprised him the most however, was the fierce look of determination adorning the face of the pink haired heiress as she grimly scrubbed away at the floor. Any words Naruto was going to say to her, were quickly forgotten. He silently made his way back to kitchen to prepare some breakfast for his quest. He had a feeling that she would be eating this morning.

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Sakura at first was unsure of what to do. Every bottle contained a different colored liquid. Each liquid had a purpose that was alien to her. Slowly reading the back of each bottle, she organized them into their individual uses. When that task was complete, she went about the task of actually cleaning. Starting on the windows and walls, she soon lost herself in the business at hand. This wasn't as hard as she had first thought. She had used up her hour, but she didn't care. She had finally found something that took her mind off of her plight. When she finished the floor, she stood up and admired her handiwork. Spotless. Even though she had been forced into it, she felt a strange sense of pride. She had done this, with her own two hands.

She stared at her handiwork for a couple more seconds before her stomach decided to alert her to its presence. It was then that she realized she hadn't eaten for three days! She slowly made her way to the kitchen, apprehensive, but determined! She wasn't going to waste away here. Cleaning the room had filled her with a new resolve. She was going to survive this. And when their little insurrection was dealt with, she was going to go home.

Stepping into the kitchen, she was surprised to find a plate of food waiting for her. Sending the blonde a questioning look, she was surprised to find him actually smile. What had happened to the serious, stone faced man who had ordered her around like a common servant this morning? Here, he looked…..friendly.

"Eat. When your done with that, we'll go see about getting you some new clothes."

Even his voice was different. It carried the distinct melody of someone who laughed easily and often. There was still the unmistakable tone of authority, but gone was the gruff commanding growl that had all but permeated his words this morning.

Her musings were cut short by her stomach, as it once again reminded her of its recent neglect. Picking up her utensils, she tried to remember all that she had been taught about manners. Keep your elbows off the table, ten chews to each bite, put your utensil down after each bite. Her stomach rumbled again, and her composure broke. Shoveling food into her mouth, as if it were going to evaporate, she quickly finished her meal. Only to find her captor smirking at her.

"What?"

She sounded defensive. She WAS defensive. But she hadn't realized that she had been that hungry.

"Nothing, I like a girl with a healthy appetite."

His tone was mocking and playful. Nevertheless, it brought a blush to her face. Ducking her head she averted her gaze, and instead studied the table.

"Well if your done eating, we can go get you some new clothes."

Grabbing her dish the blond put it in the sink and ushered her to the door. Slipping on their sandals, or in Sakura's case, Shikamaru's old pair, they headed out.

They sped past dozens of shops. It was getting to the point that Sakura had a hard time keeping track of which direction they were going. Ducking here and there, Naruto finally ambled into…..a flower shop? Wasn't she supposed to get new clothes? Walking up to the counter Naruto approached a gorgeous platinum blond knockout. Sakura vaguely remembered her as one of the ones who had been a part of her kidnapping. Averting her gaze, she studied the flowers that were on display, while listening to Naruto's conversation.

"Ino…..I need a favor."

"Yeah? And what exactly do you need? And more importantly, why should I help you? I'm still in trouble from the last time I followed one of your brilliant ideas."

Naruto had the decency to smile sheepishly, and rub the back of his head. A sure sign that he was uncomfortable, if you knew him well enough.

"That's kind of why I'm here Ino. She has no clothes. Since I'm no good at picking out clothes, I thought that you could kind of help me out?"

"Hmmm." Ino adopted a thoughtful pose. " If I help you, you'll owe me a favor. And I cant in good conscience let you pick out clothes. Remember that orange abortion that you wore when you were younger?"

At that Ino stepped around the counter over to Sakura. Giving a clearly uncomfortable Sakura a complete up and down. She finally stepped back and, thankfully, turned to Naruto.

"We definitely have to get her out of those clothes today. Throw in a new pair of sandals for me, and you have yourself a deal."

Sighing, Naruto nodded and handed his wallet over to Ino. He turned to Sakura, "Ino will be taking you for a bit. You are to listen to her commands as if I was the one who gave you them." Back was the stone faced commander that had ordered her around this morning. He then turned to Ino, "I'll be at training ground 17, drop her off there when your done." And with that, he turned around and walked out of the shop.

Ino tossed a sloppy salute to his back before turning to Sakura with a goofy grin on her face.

"So, how is living with Naruto. Are you two behaving?"

She asked the last part with a subtle wink. Still Sakura was taken back. She didn't even know this girl, and here she was, acting friendly to her. Not finding anything to say Sakura chose instead to look at the floor.

" Oh, I get it, your playing shy. Well, we'll just have to get you some clothes that really grab his attention."

At this Sakura could not keep quiet.

"Like I would want the attention of that…..animal. I only need some clothes to change into."

She tried, unsuccessfully to keep the venom out of her voice. She was promised to Sasuke. Even joking about falling for that scamp was crossing the line, as far as she was concerned.

Putting her hands up defensively Ino tried to calm the irritated pinkett.

"OK, OK. You win. You don't want to date Naruto."

Seeing a no response from Sakura, she quickly grabbed her hand and led her down into the market place. Coming into a clothing store Ino turned to Sakura.

" So, are when we're done, how about we burn those rags your wearing?"

Sakura looked down at the "dress" that she still had on. It was shredded and dirty and probably was only good for rags now. Yet she remembered how happy she had been when she had first put the dress on. It was her only link to her former life. She couldn't give it up.

"I don't care how much it costs, I want to keep it."

Ino nodded.

" I get where your coming from, but its really expensive to fix a dress like that. Unless you plan to fix it yourself, you'd be better off burning it."

Sakura set her jaw.

"Than I'll fix it myself."

It didn't matter to her that she didn't know how to sew. She wouldn't let this dress go. Not without a fight.

"Alright. I can get you some thread….and I think my mom has a book on garment repair I could let you borrow. OK?"

Sakura nodded dumbly. Why was she being so nice to her? She couldn't make heads or tails of this place or its people.

"OK! Now how about we get you some clothes!"

Sakura could only gulp at the sheer look of focus in Ino's eyes.

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Shikamaru was enjoying his relaxing stroll down the market district. He took one of these once a day. He learned that if he went for a walk everyday, it made him look busy. Hence decreasing the amount of actual work that he had to do. His peaceful stroll came to a sudden halt however, when Ino's piercing voice rang through his ear.

"Shikamaru. HEY SHIKA!"

Knowing that she would never stop unless he actually talked to her, he turned to answer her. His words died on his lips when he noticed the pink haired captive by her side. Judging by the many bags both women sported, and Sakura's new wardrobe, he guessed that they had just been clothes shopping.

"Whew," Ino paused to push all of her bag into Shikamaru's hands, before wiping imaginary sweat off of her forehead. " I thought that I was going to have to carry those heavy things all the way home. So nice of you to volunteer Shika."

Shikamaru sighed deeply. Sometimes work was just unavoidable. Taking Sakura's bags as well, he fell into step beside the duo.

" I thought that Naruto was supposed to keep an eye on her? How come you volunteered?"

Sakura was almost offended by that, but remembering her current situation, she let it slide.

" What can I say, the man know how to sweet talk a lady. Plus, I got new pair of sandals out of the deal."

She displayed her sandals for Shikamaru to observer before shoving them back inside the bag.

" So Shika, is Temari here, or are you just trying to duck out of work?"

The blond asked with an impish smile on her face.

Shikamaru simple ignored her. He instead turned to the, thus far, quiet Sakura.

" Has Naruto shown you the board yet?"

Sakura slowly shook her head. Considering the fact that this was the first day that she had been out of her room, Naruto really hasn't filled her in on anything. Deciding to find out about this "board", Sakura turned to Shikamaru.

"What is this, "board.""

Ino surprised Sakura by answering instead.

"Since this is a refugee city, maintaining a steady workforce becomes quite a hassle. To alleviate some of the stress, simple odd jobs are placed on a board in the center of the village. Since it's a fairly simple way to make money, most everybody visit's the board at least once a day. Its even a requirement of our young ninja. Since your going to be here for the unforeseeable future, it might be a good idea to check it out."

Sakura adopted a thoughtful face, before replying.

"Why would I want to do that? I didn't ask to come here, I don't see why I should work here either."

Shikamaru chuckled slightly.

"How long do you believe that Naruto will continue to feed and clothe you for free? Besides, most of these jobs will be in the presence of other ninja, meaning that Naruto wouldn't have to watch you all the time. Don't be surprised if he drags you down there tomorrow."

"As if he could drag me anywhere!"

Even as she said it, she remembered that morning. Truth be told, he could be quite intimidating. If he told her to do something, she would.

Ino gave the lazy genius a pointed look before turning back to Sakura.

"Don't worry about it, the jobs are simple, and some of them pay really well."

She gave Sakura an infectious smile, that Sakura unwillingly returned. She didn't know how, but the blond bombshell had broken through her defenses, and was slowly becoming her friend.

"Hey Ino, where exactly are we dropping these bags off at?"

Shikamaru's lazy drawl cut through the air. Instead of answering him, Ino spoke to Sakura instead.

"Where were we supposed to meet Naruto again?"

Sakura quickly scanned her brain.

"I think he said, training ground 17?"

Ino grabbed Sakura's hand, and took off down the street yelling behind her.

"TRAINING GROUND 17!"

Shikamaru sighed heavily, before pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. Picking up the bags again, he slowly set off in the direction of training ground 17.

"Troublesome women."

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Again, let me know if you need descriptions, or are confused as to the goings on.

Hope you enjoyed.


	7. Playing Ninja

What's up, story is really starting to shape up. So, hope you enjoy.

Chapter 7 Playing Ninja

Naruto was enjoying himself. He hadn't trained in three days, so he had been going all out. His army of shadow clones that he had been battling had slowly been whittled down to two. His shirt had been shredded, and he had he had a couple of thin cuts that were slowly oozing blood on his back. Nevertheless, he was smiling. Bringing his dual swords up, he dashed towards the two shadow clones before somersaulting to the right. Coming up behind the clone, he quickly slashed at it exposed back before rolling to the right again. POOF! Only one more clone to go. He used a direct charge again, allowing both of his swords to trail behind him as he ran. His clone charged him as well. Before the two collided, real Naruto dropped to the ground, before spinning and slashing violently at the unprotected stomache of the surprised clone sailing inches overhead. POOF! Breathing heavily Naruto sheathed his swords, walked over to his shredded shirt, and used it to wipe away the perspiration on his forehead.

"NARUTO-NII CHAN!!!"

A young boy wearing a blue scarf came tearing down the practice field at the blond headed man. Following him were two more kids of roughly the same age. One was a young boy wearing glasses, and with a perpetual runny nose. The other was a tomboyish girl wearing her red hair in pigtails. Naruto turned to the trio with a smile.

"Konahamaru, Udon, Moegi. What are you doing here?"

Konahamaru the obvious leader of the group was the one who answered him.

"You promised to teach us some cool jutsu's!"

"Did you enroll in the academy?"

"Yeah! The sensei said that we need to work on our chakra control before he'll teach us anything. Plus, he only know a few crappy jutsu's, we want to learn cool ones!"

Naruto smiled at the youngster.

"I like your enthusiasm, but I'm going to have to side with your sensei. Without good chakra control your liable to hurt yourself of your friends."

The kids crestfallen faces didn't go unnoticed by Naruto.

"I'll tell you kids what, how about I help you with your Taijutsu?"

The kids bright smiles were answer enough.

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Sakura was actually smiling. She couldn't help it. The look on the lazy ninja's face when her and Ino ditched him with their bags was priceless.

Her and Ino were slowing down now. Coming out of the town area, she was surprised to see trees growing?

" No offence, but I thought that we were inside of a mountain?"

Ino gave her a puzzled look.

" What makes you think that we're not?"

Sakura just stared at her before continuing.

" Uhhh….don't you see the trees? They usually don't grow in caves. Also, whats with the sunlight……was this a volcano?"

The smile vanished from Ino's face.

"No, its not a volcano . This mountain is a monument to the Nobel's greed."

She took note of Sakura's shocked face before continuing.

"It used to be a solid mountain at one point, but it was mined almost completely hollow. What wasn't dug out by the forced labor, was removed by our previous leader to set up this base. The sunlight you see is a result of small wells in the top allowing sunlight in. The sunlight then reflects off of crystals still in the top of the mountain."

Sakura nodded slowly. It kind of made sense.

"But, what about the trees?"

She couldn't help but ask. If Ino minded, she didn't let it show. Instead she just smiled at Sakura.

" Our previous leader planted them. We even have people who tend to them. The soil isn't very good for food, but the trees seemed to take. "

Sakura was about to speak again, when Ino grabbed her hand and started running again.

" Come on! Training ground 17 is right up here."

Pushing the questions to back of her mind for later. Sakura runs after Ino.

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When they approached training ground 17, Sakura was stunned. She had harbored the belief that the blond man who was in charge of her was mean. She had pushed aside his subtle acts of kindness. Instead, she replaced them with memories of him yelling at her. She wanted to believe that he was the bad guy, that there was nothing in his chest but a black, venomous heart. That's why the sight of him playing with children simply would not register in her brain. She tried telling herself that it wasn't him, that she must see someone else underneath a dog pile of children. That cold emotionless face couldn't be laughing without a care in the world. Ino must have read her thoughts.

" Its hard to believe that one of the strongest ninja in our village, can act like such a complete dunce."

Her smile, however, gave her away. She admired him. Sakura could see it written in every line of her face.

"Is, is that really him?"

Sakura was still having a hard time believing what she was seeing. Her question reflected her disbelief. And even thought she didn't expect one, Ino gave her an answer.

" Yeah, that's Naruto. He's always playing around with those three."

Shaking her head, as if to remove some mental cobweb, Sakura again takes in the scene. Without her realizing it, she was slowly changing her perception.

" You know, its rude to spy on people."

Shikamaru's lazy voice sprang out of nowhere. If either girl was surprised, they hid it well.

" Took you long enough to get here lazy ass."

Ino shot back, without taking her eyes off of Naruto. Shikamaru simply shrugged. He'd been around Ino long enough to know when to let things go. Setting the bags down, he sat down at the base of a tree, and closed his eyes.

Ino let out a dreamy sigh. Staring at Naruto without his shirt was one of her favorite hobbies. Not that she would let him know that. She had a crush on him when they were little, and the two had even been on a few dates, but they just weren't right for each other. She was content with being his friend. His friend that enjoyed viewing him half naked that is. She finally tore her eyes off of Naruto to see Shikamaru trying to take a nap.

" You know Shika, if you worked out, you could have a physique like Naruto's"

The lazy ninja raised his eyes at her.

" And have you spying on me in the hot springs? I think I'll pass."

Seeing Ino's face get red was a well worth the tirad that followed.

" THAT WAS ONE TIME! AND YOU PROMISED YOU WOULDN'T SAY ANYTHING!"

She turned to Sakura to tell her not to listen, only to see that Sakura was still staring at Naruto. Sakura had heard Ino's earlier comment about Naruto's physique, and had chanced a peek. She was since unable to look away.

"Sakura, Sakura, SAKURA!"

Ino had to resort to yelling in order to get the pinketts attention. Startled, and blushing furiously, Sakura finally turned to Ino.

" I wasn't, I didn't, I….."

In her haste to prove her innocence, she was rambling. Thank God that Ino had silenced her.

" Its ok Sakura. I enjoy a good peek too. However, I do believe that your eye candy had noticed out presence."

She pointed to where Naruto was, Sakura followed Ino's finger the where Naruto was. The blond was slowly making his way over to them with all three kids still hanging off of him.

"Done shopping already? I thought that Ino would keep you out there longer."

Sakura found it a bit odd that he was addressing her with children hanging off of his neck and limbs. Ignoring his initial question, she couldn't help but blurt out.

" Why are you letting those kids hang all over you?"

Instead of Naruto, Konahamaru answered for him.

" Because we're practicing taijutsu. Who are you, the bosses girlfriend?"

Sakura had the pleasure of everyone watching her turn bright, beet red, before Ino drew their attention with her laughter.

" What's so funny? Isn't she? Hey missus. Why are you turning red?"

Thankfully Sakura was spared further embarrassment by Shikamaru.

" That's enough Konahamaru. Why don't you three go practice your taijutsu over in the open field?"

Konahamaru was about to protest, when he saw Naruto nod. Throwing one last questioning look at Sakura, he slowly stalked out to the training field, leaving the four adults alone.

Once he was out of earshot, Shikamaru turned to Naruto.

" So, are you going to take Sakura to the board tomorrow?"

Shrugging Naruto answered.

" I thought about it. Its up to her though. I don't want to force her to do anything that she doesn't want to."

Sakura couldn't believe her ears. Maybe she had Naruto all wrong.

" Besides," Naruto continued, " If she's forced, she might do a not do a good job. That would hurt us in the end."

All admiration she felt for him disappeared. He thought that she would do a bad job? How dare he!

" Excuse me? How dare you insinuate that I would do a poor job on purpose."

She didn't know why she was so mad. Why would his opinion even matter to her?

" Your words are good and all. But I still don't know if we can trust you to do a good job or not. I mean, have you ever done any work in you life? You wouldn't have to try to do a bad job."

Now he was yelling at her? How dare he! Did he even know who he was talking to? Standing up and getting almost toe to toe with him, she started yelling right back.

" I'll have you know that even the very worst that I could do, is by far better than your best. You condescending bastard!"

Giving a short bark of sarcastic laughter, Naruto responded.

" Oh yeah? Well how about you put your money where your mouth is. I'll take you to the boards tomorrow. Lets see you prove me wrong."

Red faced and shaking. Sakura retorted.

" I was going to go anyways. I don't need your permission!"

Ino's laughter again brought all attention back to her.

" Just what is so funny Ino?'

Sakura hissed with just enough killer intent to get her point across. Still shaking with uncontrolled laughter Ino composes herself enough to choke out a reply.

" Please, don't stop you two. Its like watching an old married couple. Are you sure that your not dating."

Effectively quelling her anger, Sakura could only gape open mouthed at the platinum blonde.

Naruto could only shake his head.

" Your simply to much Ino. Anyways, I have to get back to my lesson with the terrible three." He turned to Sakura. " You had better get your rest tonight. Tomorrow, your going to need it."

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	8. What did I get myself into

So This is a filler Chapter. Next one will probably be to, before we get to the meat and potatoes of the story. Again, thanks to those of you who reviewed. I appreciate the kind words, they stroke my ego juuuuuuuuuust right. Again, if anything is confusing you, or you want me to go into more detail about something, just let me know, I'll see what I can do.

As always, hope you enjoy.

**Chapter 8: What did I get myself into?**

Sasuke slowly concentrated building up his chakra. Staring his enemy down at the end of the room, he sped through his hand signs before expelling a huge fireball towards his target.

_**!!BOOM!!**_

The wooden dummy exploded from the force of the burning projectile. The random splinters still smoldering from the intense heat.

Even seeing the destructive power of his best jutsu couldn't bring the younge Uchiha to smile however. Before he could turn his attention to the other wooden dummies in the room, however, he was interrupted by a messenger.

" Master Uchiha, the guards bring their report. Your presence is requested in the master's study."

The servant spoke while bowed. Only after the Uchiha had swept past him without a word, did he dare raise his eyes.

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Sasuke stormed into his fathers study without bothering to knock. Nodding slightly, he noted with some disdain that his brother Itachi was there. Saving his insults for a later date, he turned to the guards that were standing at attention.

"Did you find her?"

His voice snapped.

The guards all averted their eyes. Finally the oldest and highest ranking among them begrudgingly stepped forward.

" No my lord. Its as if those bandits fell off of face of the Earth, and took Lady Sakura with them."

The guard had to duck suddenly from a clock that was thrown directly at his head.

" YOU INCOMPETENT IDIOTS! HOW COULD YOU NOT FIND HER? "

Sasuke was blindly searching for something else to throw, when he felt a hand of his shoulder. Looking up, he saw his father standing behind him.

" That's enough Sasuke."

His voice was effectively stopped the raging Uchiha. Sasuke was still furious, but would do nothing to upset his father. His father, seeing that Sasuke was no longer out of control, turned now to his guards.

" Have you really tried your best to find Miss Haruno?"

The lead guard slowly nodded his head.

" Why then, did you come back empty handed? I thought that I made it clear that she was to be returned, unharmed."

The lead guard was shaking now.

" W. We tried milord. Honestly. We could get no lead anywhere. We even went to the nearby town's and villages. All the villagers there swear that they haven't seen Lady Sakura."

" Well then, your incompetence will cost you. Wont it?"

His words dripped venom, his eyes never leaving them. Even as they were stripped of their weapons and drug from the room, screaming and crying. Only when they were completely out of sight, did someone dare break the silence.

" Was that really necessary father?"

Itachi had a cross look on his face.

" Did that offend you, coward?"

Sasuke taunted. Any respect that he may have had for his brother, was long gone. Ever since the Four Year War against the SERF army, Itachi had acting different. He was a strong opponent to any form of violence, even going so far as to voluntarily drop his rank in the army. Sasuke had since lost all respect for the man. Any Uchiha that refused to fight was no better than one of those beggars on the street that Sasuke despised.

"That's enough. Itachi, your presence is not required here."

Itachi looked as if he wanted to say something, but then thought better of it. Nodding stiffly, he exited the room. Fugaku the turned to Sasuke.

" What have I told you about controlling your emotions?"

Not waiting for Sasuke to answer, he answered himself.

" An Uchiha does not have outbursts."

Seeing Sasuke's sullen nod he pressed on.

" Now, as for you request to form your own search party. I am declining you request…"

" WHY? Wasn't I the best at the academy? I have to kill that blonde punk, and rescue Sakura."

Fugaku only shook his head.

" You may have been the best in the academy, yet all accounts I got concerning your fight, was that you were losing. I'm sorry son, but I will not allow you to throw your life away for some silly vendetta. I would need to see some radical improvement of your skills before I let you chase after this "Punk"."

" HOW? How am I supposed to improve my skills?"

" I think that I might be able to help you there. I am going to give you a private instructor, you have two years. In that time if you have improved adequately, I will promote you to captain of your own squad, with the sole intent of disposing of the group KAGE. Does that sound reasonable."

" What about Sakura?"

Fugaku paused before answering.

" If we haven't found her now, we may not ever find her. She may even be dead. The only thing that we do know is the organization that took her. I think its clear which course of action you should take."

Sasuke slowly nodded, his face unreadable.

" I am going burn KAGE to the ground."

Fugaku only smirked. He motioned for a messenger to come in. The messenger slowly walked into the room, before bowing deeply.

" What do you require Milord?"

" I want you to bring me Kakashi."

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Naruto finished training for the day. Grabbing his discarded shirt, he moped the sweat off of his brow, and slowly made his way to the hospital. It had been three days since Sakura had insisted upon going down to the board to pick up some odd jobs, and Naruto couldn't have been happier. Not only was she able to pitch in towards food, but it gave him time to train. Checking the time, he was startled to find that he was running extremelly late. Grabbing his stuff, Naruto ran across the village to pick Sakura up from her task today.

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If you had told Sakura when she was a little girl that she would be working in a hospital after she finished military academy, she would have been overjoyed. She had wanted to be a doctor when she was a little girl, and the silent dream had never left her. She somethimes regretted not pursuing the field when she was in the academy, instead she had opted to follow the Uchiha, and take the same classes that he took. Thinking back on it, maybe that was a mistake. Sure she was in love with the Uchiha, but was he worth her dreams?

Slowly shaking her head she got back to work. She was working in a hospital all right. Grabbing another soiled pair of scrubs, she dunked them into the bucket in front of her, and started scrubbing them on the metal board beside her. This is my life now, she thought with more than a trace of regret. Scrubbing doctors dirty clothes by hand until thier washer was fixed. Still, it could be worse. She could be dead. She had passed that faze of her captivity, and was thankful that she hadn't done anything drastic. She was going to continue, to live. And one day, she would be free of this place. Maybe a little better because of it. To think that everything that she used to take for granted, her clean clothes, her spotless house, all came at the expense of someone's time and effort. And she had never even thanked them? She inspected the article of clothing that she was currently washing. Spotless, you wouldn't know that there had been any blood on this top at all! She rung the shirt out, and hung it up next to all of her others. Reaching for another piece, she was surprised to feel a tap on her shoulder. Turning, she saw the lady who she presumed was the head of the hospital, Shizune, smiling at her.

" Sakura, your shift is up."

Glancing at the clock, Sakura saw that her time was indeed, up.

" Naruto isn't here yet, but if you want, you can wait for him in my office."

Again, that smile. Sakura couldn't help but return it. Why was everyone here so friendly. She was used to the cold inifferent greetings of her parents friends, and peers. She wasn't used to the honest smiles, and polite ways of people that she was brought up to belive were beneath.

" Arigato, Shizune-San."

She bowed politely. And followed Shizune up some stairs, and into the hospital area herself. Thus far, she had only been in the basement of the hospital, where the laundry was. This was her first time actually being in the general hospital area. She was amazed. She had been to the hospital in Konaha, and while it had been huge and professional looking, it still registered to her as a cold miserable place. This building was maybe half that size, yet it radiated warmth, and comfort. She would have stopped to take it in, to find out how such a meager people could create such an atmosphere of comfort, if she hadn't been following someone. Walking behind Shizune, her eyes were trying to take in all her surrounding. She caught a flash of blond out of the corner of her eye, and stopped dead in her tracks. There, in a patients room, healing some unknown person, was her friend Ino. She didn't know how long she stood there, nor how long she would have, if she hadn't felt Shizune gently tug on her arm.

" Right this way Sakura-san."

Nodding dumbly, she followed Shizune the rest of the way to her office with her eyes glued firmly to the floor. Shizune ushered Sakura into her office, before closing the door and taking a seat at her desk.

" Are you alright Haruno-San?"

Shizune's voice was full of concern, and her honest expression promised her that she would listen without judgment, but what was Sakura supposed to say? That seeing Ino doing the thing that she had always wanted to do had made her feel like an incredible failure?

" Ino's a doctor." was what she said.

Shizune nodded her head before replying.

" You wanted to be a doctor when you were growing up?"

Sakura could only nod at this. She felt like crying again.

Shizune walked over to her bookshelf, and selected a book, before handing it to Sakura. Sakura read the title through blurry eyes, _Intro to Internal Medicine._

" When you finished with that one, let me know, and I'll give you the next one."

Sakura was stunned. Giving in to her compulsions for once, she engulfed Shizune in a bone crushing hug.


End file.
